More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A shameless mother-of-three who tried to cheat her insurer out of more than £130,000 by claiming she had terminal cancer has been spared jail.
Gemma Goodwin, of Brent Way in Dartford, forged medical documents stating she had been given just a year to live after the disease was found to have spread to her breast, lungs and cervix.
The 38-year-old was found to have lied to her insurer after the firm contacted her hospital – which revealed she was not a current or past patient.
Investigators later discovered that the serial liar had also withdrawn £1,961 for a holiday with her children from an online fundraiser that had been launched to pay for her to travel to America for cancer treatment.
DC Kim Negus, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, said: “Goodwin is a deceitful and shameless individual, exploiting a devastating illness for personal financial gain.
"What’s worse is this is not the first time she has attempted to cheat the system, having previously been convicted for fraudulently claiming housing and long-term illness benefits."
In 2015, Goodwin took out a life insurance policy that included a terminal illness benefit – which meant she would be compensated if she was given less than 12 months to live.
The fraudster emailed her insurer in 2018 to tell them she had been diagnosed with cancer and was expected to die in a year.
She nominated a friend from work to act as a beneficiary to manage the claim upon her death.
The Kent mum submitted the relevant forms, including a hospital letter confirming she had stage two breast cancer, stage two cervical cancer and stage four lung cancer, with a life expectancy of one to two years.
In response, the insurer requested details of her medical condition and history directly from the NHS.
This prompted Goodwin to cancel her claim, as the relevant department confirmed she had been lying.
'Goodwin clearly has no remorse when it comes to her fraudulent activity...'
In January 2019 – five months after the insurance company discovered the medical records had been forged – the brazen con woman contacted her insurer again to report she had three months left to live.
At the end of the same year, the firm informed Goodwin the policy had been cancelled due to evidence suggesting that the claim was fraudulent.
When the pal was later interviewed by detectives, they explained to officers how the trickster had repeatedly lied about having lupus and cancer over their seven-year friendship.
“Goodwin clearly has no remorse when it comes to her fraudulent activity," DC Negus added.
"But she should know by now that the truth will always be uncovered in the end.”
During interviews with officers, Goodwin admitted to committing the fraud and admitted she enjoyed the attention she received from being "ill".
She also declared that she had typed the letter from the hospital herself, using an internet search engine to find a doctor’s name to sign the form with.
The hoaxer was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years and a six-month electronically-tagged curfew during a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court earlier today.
For information on how we can report on court proceedings, click here.
